Qualifying School marathon begins

One of the true tests of golfing endurance gets under way this week as the battle for a coveted place on The 2015 Race to Dubai begins at The European Tour Qualifying School.

Nearly 1,000 golfers, all hoping to grab a dream European Tour card for next season, will take part in the demanding elimination process with the First Stage taking place over the next four weeks across eight different venues.

But for many, the journey begins this week in Austria and Scotland, with 86 players teeing it up at Golfclub Schloss Ebreichsdorf and 76 at The Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course for Section A.

The 162 players will be looking to progress through to Second Stage, which takes place in early November across four Spanish venues.

After this week’s events, Section B will take place from September 16-19 at Frilford Heath Blue Course and Golf and Country Club Fleesensee, a European Tour Destination located in the north east of Germany.

Golf d'Hardelot in France and Italy’s Circolo Golf Bogogno will host Section C concurrently from September 23-26 before Frilford Heath’s Red Course and Ribagolfe in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon host the European Tour hopefuls from September 30-October 3.

The successful qualifiers will move on to the Second Qualifying Stage, to be played from November 7-10 at Las Colinas Golf & Country Club in Alicante, Campo de Golf El Saler in Valencia, Lumine Golf & Beach Club in Tarragona and Panoramica Golf & Sport Resport in Castellon.

The drama will once again climax at the stunning PGA Catalunya Resort near Girona from November 15-20, where the qualifiers from the first two stages will be joined by experienced European Tour and Challenge Tour players as they all attempt to earn their playing rights on The 2015 Race to Dubai.

The leading 25 players (plus those tied for 25th place) following the epic six-round challenge will then earn Category 15 Membership of The European Tour for the following season.

In 2013, a total of 27 players, whittled down from 968 entrants, earned their stripes in the north-east of Spain with six players – playing a mammoth 252 holes over the course of the gruelling process – making it through all three Stages of the Qualifying School to gain a card.